The Flash (Vol 4) 6
Synopsis for "Best Served Cold" Barry Allen and Patty Spivot make their way back to Central City after taking a weekend for themselves, away from all of the drama that filled their lives over the last week. Patty isn't paying much attention to Barry, as she is reading a cold case file that she brought, knowing that the sole witness for the case lived in the town they had been in. Her reading has not gone unnoticed, and Barry remarks that he would prefer that his girlfriend let him join in on the crime-solving fun. The word catches Patty's attention, and she confirms that she is happy to put a label on their relationship, finally. Patty believes that the cold case is a murder according to evidence and a witness' testimony, but the file reads like a simple abduction. Barry remembers that Iris West once did an exposé on the family involved, and Patty strong-arms him into arranging a meeting with her. Later that night, Barry visits his friend, Dr. Darwin Elias. Elias has determined that whenever The Flash uses the Speed Force, his energy buildup is creating wormholes that tear at the fabric of space and time. As such, he has created special energy output gauge that will provide audio reports into The Flash's earpieces with warnings against going too fast. The gauge will measure the incremental increases in energy output. When the output exceeds 80%, it is reaching a level that poses a danger of causing rifts. In order to discharge this energy, Elias has created a massive treadmill. When The Flash runs on it, it will collect the energy surplus, and turn it into power for the whole city, in the aftermath of the EMP blast. The next morning, Leonard Snart, also known as Captain Cold, returns to the hospital with a laser that he's stolen in the hopes that the doctor there can use it to help destroy the brain tumour that is killing his sister Lisa. However, with the power out from the EMP blast, there is not enough energy to properly operate the laser. Snart warns that if his sister dies, he will destroy the hospital. The doctor can do nothing but make excuses, as since The Flash caused the EMP blast, the hospital has been set back 40 years in terms of treatments. He advises Snart that the best he can do is spend what little time there is left with his sister. Leaning over his sleeping sister's body, Leonard Snart vows that The Flash will pay for what he did. At a restaurant located on a boat in the harbour, Barry and Patty meet with Iris over lunch. Iris concedes that the cold case was likely a murder, but in all honesty, there is not much about the case that makes sense. She hands Patty a copy of her research, adding that there are few remaining leads. Changing the subject, Patty wonders why Iris changed her spin on her recent story of The Flash. Iris responds that her investigation didn't turn anything up. Even so, Patty thinks The Flash should stay out of police matters, but Iris thinks that The Flash needs some good publicity lately. Abruptly, Iris asks whether Barry and Patty are dating. Barry blushes, admitting that they have been dating for a few months, before excusing himself to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Leonard Snart blames The Flash for ruining his life. He can't earn a living through crime because of The Flash; he can't keep his gang together because of The Flash, and now he can't save his sister because of The Flash. Angrily, he uses his newly developed power to emit cold straight from his hands to freeze the river between the Gem Cities, trapping the very boat that Barry and company are on within the ice. Quickly, Barry dons his costume, recalling Captain Cold's persistence over the last five years. No matter how many times he'd put the man down, he would always come back for his next big score. And it was the score that mattered most to him, always. Snart had gathered together a team of like-minded criminals calling themselves The Rogues, and The Flash had dealt with them has he had always dealt with Snart. Despite Captain Cold's commitment to the score, his sense of honour had always prevented him from using his freeze pistols for murder. Something is different now, though. Not only has Captain Cold done away with the pistols, he is also surprisingly fast, and his determination suggests that this time he is out for blood. Meanwhile, Cold has got the boat teetering precariously on a tower of ice, with all of the passengers struggling to keep their balance. Barry tries to subdue Captain Cold, but with every move he makes, his energy output grows closer and closer to dangerous levels. On the boat, Iris struggles to help keep other passengers from falling to their deaths while Patty attempts to find Barry in the washroom. Suddenly, the ship cracks in two, and the two women are separated. Desperately, The Flash tries to buffer the inevitable fall of the section of boat to which Iris and the other passengers are clinging. He manages to get them to the ground safely, but at the cost of raising his energy output significantly. With renewed vigour, The Flash returns his attention to Captain Cold, but the villain's new abilities are creating a field of cold that is slowing down The Flash's molecules to the point where he can't land a punch or dodge one. While Patty's section of the boat begins to teeter dangerously on ice tower cracking away beneath it, one of Captain Cold's ice-spears pierces through The Flash's shoulder just as his energy output reaches 94%. Afraid to do anything else, The Flash is forced to watch as Patty and the boat crash into the ice below, and his energy output climbs toward 100%. Appearing in "Best Served Cold" Featured Characters *The Flash (Barry Allen) Supporting Characters *Iris West *Patty Spivot *Darwin Elias Villains *Captain Cold Other Characters *Lisa Snart Locations *Central City Items *Coming Soon Concepts *Speed Force Vehicles *None Known Notes *Coming Soon Trivia *Coming Soon Links *http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=21053 *http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Flash_Vol_4_6 *http://www.comicvine.com/the-flash-best-served-cold/37-316562/ The Flash (Vol 4) 06